Postpositions in Turkish (için, ile, gibi, kadar)

Turkish does not possess prepositions; instead, it uses postpositions (edatlar or ilgeçler), which strictly follow the noun phrase they govern. Postpositions fall into three grammatical categories based on the case they require:

1. Bare Noun / Genitive Pronouns: - için (for / in order to): Ahmet için (for Ahmet), benim için (for me), öğrenmek için (in order to learn). - gibi (like / as): melek gibi (like an angel), senin gibi (like you). - kadar (as much as / to the extent of): dağ kadar (as big as a mountain), onun kadar (as much as him). - ile / -(y)lA (with / by means of): otobüsle (by bus), arkadaşımla (with my friend). 2. Dative-governing postpositions (-e / -a): - göre (according to): bana göre (according to me / in my opinion). - kadar (until / up to): akşama kadar (until evening), okula kadar (as far as school). - doğru (towards): eve doğru (towards home). 3. Ablative-governing postpositions (-den / -dan): - önce (before): dersten önce (before the lesson). - sonra (after): yemekten sonra (after the meal). - beri (since): sabahtan beri (since morning).

Learners frequently forget to put personal pronouns into the genitive before için and gibi (saying sen için instead of the correct senin için).